The President, League of Maritime Editors and Publishers, Mr. Kingsley Anaroke has called on the federal government to empower the Nigerian maritime journalists with 10 percent of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF).
Anaroke who made this call while delivering his welcome address at an event to mark the 20th Anniversary Lecture/ Awards and Patrons’ Investiture ceremony with the theme, “Indigenous Fleet Development, What Options?”, argued that the call had become imperative as the Nigerian maritime journalists and publishers share the same fate of the Nigerian indigenous ship owners whose operations he said had been stifled by lack of fund in the ocean of opportunities.
Anaroke who is also the Managing Director of Kings Communications Limited, publishers MMS Weekly Newspapers observed that many operators challenge journalists on investigative and developmental reportage without admitting their vicarious liability.
He noted that a journalist needed funds to undertake a good investigative journalistic work or a good research based story adding that where a journalist or publisher lacked patronage in advert and media relations duties yet publish stories (press releases for operators) for gratis all year, one would not expect him to do magic.
“The point being made here is that maritime media publishers are critical stakeholders in the sector and should be treated as such. With about 65 Magazines, newspapers and online independent publishers in the sector, they have a combined workforce of over 255 members of staff with almost zero advert patronage on the average monthly from the maritime agencies and operators yet they have been adjudged as the most active in Africa.
“At this juncture, the League on behalf of the entire maritime media publishers, is calling on all the maritime and port regulatory agencies and private sector operators to avail us the needed support while we call on the federal government to enhance maritime journalism with 10 percent of the CVFF. This can be expressed within the framework of capacity building and local content legislations”, he added.
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